One of the hottest teen idols of the mid- to late '90s, talented dramatic actor Brad Renfro has also garnered adult fans for building an impressive filmography that includes performances opposite some of Hollywood's most respected actors. A native of Knoxville, TN, Renfro was raised by his grandmother following his parents' divorce. He broke into movies at age ten, when he impressed an audience member during a D.A.R.E. (a national anti-drug organization promoted by local police departments) skit (he was playing a drug dealer). This unknown person recommended Renfro to a talent scout who was holding a national open casting call for a young man to play a traumatized boy who finds himself in the midst of a deadly homicide case in Joel Schumacher's The Client (1994). Renfro, who had no training and no real acting experience, won the part and found himself working opposite such heavy hitters as Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon, Ossie Davis, and Mary-Louise Parker. Though such stellar company may have been daunting to others, Renfro held his own and earned positive reviews for his performance. He next played a new kid in town who befriends and decides to find a cure for an AIDS-afflicted boy (veteran child actor Joseph Mazzello) in Peter Horton's heart-tugging The Cure (1995). In 1996, Renfro played Huck Finn to Jonathan Taylor Thomas' Tom Sawyer in Disney's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and then essayed an abused boy (Brad Pitt played him as a vengeful adult) in Sleepers (1996). Since then, his career has continued to expand. In 1998, he starred opposite Ian McKellen as a high school student morbidly fascinated by Nazi atrocities who finds himself drawn to an elderly, sinister war criminal in Bryan Singer's sophomore film Apt Pupil. Brad Renfro was born on July 25, 1982, in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.

More fun facts about Brad Renfro

Birth name: Bradley Barron Renfro

Nickname Pagey, Renfreak, Fro

Height 5' 9" (1.75 m)

Is an only child.

Father, Mark.

Mother, Angela.

Brad is a proficient guitar player and lists 'Led Zeppelin' guitarist Jimmy Page, as his idol

Has played in a school production sponsored by DARE, a program in which young people learn about the danger of drugs.

Knoxville, Tennessee: He struck a plea bargain on cocaine and marijuana charges and agreed to undergo random drug screening. [3 July 1998]

He was arrested in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, when police pulled him over and allegedly found cocaine and marijuana in his pants and socks. [5 June 1998]

Arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on a grand theft charge for allegedly trying to steal a 45 foot yacht. He and a companion failed to untie the boat from the dock, causing damage to both the boat and the dock. [28 August 2000]

Sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay more than $4,000 for repairs on a yacht he tried to steal in Fort Lauderdale. [5 January 2001]

While on probation in Florida, arrested May 16, 2001 for underage drinking as car was pulled over. Released from jail after $500 bond posted. [May 2001]

Dated Gaby Hoffmann [Spring 1997]

January, 2002 - Knoxville, Tennessee Brad was arrested and charged with public intoxication and driving without a license. He was stopped after a traffic violation near his house.

Ordered back to jail for remainder of probation by Florida judge due to his drunk driving arrest in January. [February 2002]

Until he was discovered and cast in The Client (1994), he attended Fountain City Elementary School in Knoxville, Tennesee. Later, this same school was used to film interior and exterior shots for Homer Hickam's high school in October Sky (1999).

Won the "Hollywood Reporter's Young Star Award" in 1995.

Raised by his grandmother.

In 1997, he starred in a commercial for the videogame Resident Evil 2. In the commercial, he played one of the game's main characters, Leon Kennedy. The commercial was directed by George Romero, but it was never aired in the USA.
Personal quotes

"Everybody thinks I'm, like, a bad boy. I've had my day, but I just sit at home and play the blues mostly."

Brad Renfro - Interview by Johnny Knoxville

When asked what he was rebelling against, Marion Brando's outlaw biker in The Wild One (1954) famously responded, "Whaddaya got?" Brad Renfro has taken this attitude so much to heart that, whether he's attempting to steal a yacht or playing a brooding dropout all too truthfully in the controversial Bully (2001), it's unclear if his life imitates art--or if it's the other way around. Comfortably gonzo in his Southern good ol' bad-boy persona, Renfro just can't seem to keep his rebel yell quiet. He's spellbinding because he's one of the few actors who's not afraid to live on the edge both onscreen and off. So catch this "Catcher" while you can. To that end, we've enlisted kindred risk-taker Johnny Knoxville to get to the heart and soul of Renfro's walk on the wild side.

BRAD RENFRO: Knox Vegas!

JOHNNY KNOXVILLE: Mr. Renfro. How are you, you little bastard?

BR: I'm doing beautifully. I've been surfing.

JK: Surfing? Hillbillies don't surf.

BR: I know. We ride motocross. And check this out, dude: I might be directing a movie. It's based on a book called Joe the Engineer.

JK: Will this be your directorial debut?

BR: No, I did a short [Meter Man]. It's about a lonely, drunken meter reader. Now that I've been in and out of jail and kind of grown up a little bit--

JK: --Oops!

BR: That was your fault, by the way. [Knoxville laughs] I wish you'd tackled me that night, just sat on me and said, "Where are you going?"

JK: I believe the incident to which you're referring involved an attempt to steal a yacht?

BR: Yeah. I wasn't going nowhere, though.

JK: Well, usually you've got to untie the boat first. You're a great actor and an amazing guitarist, but you leave a little to be desired in the sailing department.

BR: Word. That's cool.

JK: Where was that, Fort Lauderdale?

BR: Yeah. How did that movie turn out that you were in when we were down there [Big Trouble]?

JK: Um, I don't think it turned out.

BR: [laughs] Oh. Did you see Bully [which Renfro was shooting at the time]?

JK: Uh, no. How'd that turn out?

BR: Brilliant! That's the reason you're talking to me right now, for Interview.

JK: You're not promoting Bully--that's two years old. The theme of this issue is--

BR: --"The New Catchers in the Rye."

JK: Exactly. Have you read the book?

BR: Of course.

JK: And your views on Holden Caulfield?

BR: I think Holden represents the new generation, the youth we're seeing today. When the book came out it was controversial, because of the mental institution. But, fuck, by the time I was 18 I'd been in three of the bastards. I read it in ninth grade, and at the time Holden and I shared a lot of the same views, as far as--

JK: --The phony adults?

BR: The phony adults, the guy who hits on him... Holden was right: Everyone else was crazy.

JK: There you go. Ladies and gentlemen, Brad Renfro. Let's talk about Knoxville [Tennessee, Renfro and Knoxville's hometown]. When was the last time you were back there?

BR: About a month ago, and, dude, you've got those rednecks back in K-town all about it.

JK: All about what?

BR: Trying to be Johnny. I get there and they're running their bicycles into dumpsters and shit.

JK: Oh, don't tell me that, man. Jeez.

BR: [laughs] Oh, and all the chicks that have never met you have now slept with you. It's crazy. But Knoxville--I say get the hell out of there. I have too many friends back there who aren't quite as ambitious as they should be. But, hey, they definitely know how to breed 'em there. I mean, look at me and you.

JK: I believe they usually refer to that as inbreeding.

BR: The last of a dying breed. Man, I got out of the joint and I've kind of--

JK: --The joint! [laughs] Hey, is it true what they say about sex on the inside: It's all just a hustle unless you take it out the gate? I had a buddy who was in prison, and that's what he told me.

BR: Prison's different, dude. I was in a county jail.

JK: Oh. That's even worse.

BR: Yeah. But, you know, I ain't preaching to nobody. I was just really close to God, and I didn't try to get up nobody's business. I wasn't in there that long. I was cool with my hand.

BR: I knew this guy once called Crowdog; he was my friend's dad. He went to pick his wife up from an AA meeting, and she had talked so bad about him in the meeting that when he got there they started hitting him with chairs. Somebody threw a doughnut and hit him in the head. And he pulled out his pistol, shot two of 'em, and then shot his old lady.

JK: Oh, Jesus. He's doing hard time now?

BR: Well, this was back in the '70s. I'm not sure. My mother told me about it.

JK: So, how long have you been working in the business?

BR: About 10 years. I've made 16 movies. These days I ain't doing anything but work. You'd be really proud of me, Johnny. I'm doing really good.

JK: That's what I tell everyone who asks me about you. I tell them, "Look, he's going to grow out of all this bullshit and he's going to do some really great work."

BR: Well, that's what I'm doing. I'm doing a movie now with Daryl Hannah called The Job. It's off the hook. And you should see Bully, Johnny. I think you'd love it. It's at Blockbuster.

JK: I will. What do you say, next time we're back home we get a couple of Smoky Mountain Market hot dogs and head up to Dollywood?

A Florida judge has ordered teen actor Brad Renfro to spend 90 days in rehabilitation instead of a jail term. Renfro, 19, appeared at a court hearing on Thursday after a spell in jail following the actor turning himself in to police earlier this month for driving without a license and public intoxication in January. The judge decided to give the troubled actor a chance to fight his addictions, but Renfro is aware of a possible nine month jail sentence if he fails to comply. Broward County Circuit Judge Ronald Rothschild told the actor, "I'm going to put you into this program, which I think will have some reasonable probability of success. "I'm going to ask you to put some energy into this." Renfro has been arrested in the past for possession of marijuana and cocaine and was infamously arrested in 2000 for attempting to steal a yacht and sentenced to two years probation.

Renfro Arrested Again

Teenage actor Brad Renfro is tipped to play Britney Spears's boyfriend in her next movie, American Girl, but his role may be in jeopardy following his arrest on Monday night. Renfro, 19, was allegedly drunk in public when he was pulled over by cops near his home in Knoxville. This was not the first arrest for Renfro, who seems to be living the troubled former child star cliche. He was arrested in August of 2000 after an attempt to steal a yacht went awry.

Brad Renfro Turns To Golf After Legal Wrangles

Hollywood hunk Brad Renfro is getting over his legal troubles by playing golf. The 19-year-old The Client star, who was arrested last year when he and a friend tried to steal a yacht from a Florida harbor, insists he's turned over a new leaf. He says, "It's funny most kids my age are just getting into the party scene and I'm over that s**t. I don't go out and get arrested anymore. The most extravagant thing I do these days is play golf. I'm like an old man." He continues, "I do have a bad reputation but I think most of the time when folks meet me they don't have too many bad things to say about me." Renfro was caught trying to steal the yacht after he forgot to untie the boat from the dock, he says, "Aw, come on! Put two and two together. It was a joke, a joke that went sour. I'm not that ignorant."

Brad Renfro Charged With Trying To Steal A Yacht

Actor Brad Renfro was charged with grand theft after allegedly trying to steal a yacht the day before filming was to begin on his latest movie Bully (2001). Two people sleeping in a nearby boat were awoken by the sound of an engine at about 4 a.m. Monday. They saw Renfro, 18, and a friend trying to move the yacht away from the dock, police said. But they didn't untie the dock lines and the $175, 000 boat was yanked back into the dock, damaging its stern, authorities said. The two people called authorities and held Renfro and pal Harold Bond, 24, until police arrived. Renfro was released from jail the same night after posting $10, 000 bail. Renfro "seemed to be the most distraught about being arrested, " says the boat's manager, Paul Roydgouse.

Brad Renfro on "The Jacket" and Working With Adrien Brody

Brad Renfro plays a small but crucial role in "The Jacket," the psychological thriller/love story/time travel movie directed by John Maybury and starring Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley.

INTERVIEW WITH BRAD RENFRO:

Your character has very limited screen time but is integral to the plot. How do you make the most of that as an actor?

I don’t know. To be quite honest, I just play it like you would anything. Just play the reality of the scene and have fun with it. Any time you kind of try to make your mark, I would say you’re going to either look silly or fail miserably. So, you know, I just let the work do itself.

For a character like this, do you create a backstory?

Yeah, maybe, but just little things like maybe what he was doing a week before. Like little fun stuff, like maybe put a car seat in the backseat. He’s probably stolen this station wagon, little things like that but nothing too [extreme].

How was working with Adrien Brody? Did everything the two of you filmed make it in the film?

Nice and easy. I was surprised – I haven’t seen the film - but I was surprised when I did my ADR that yeah, pretty much everything we did made it in. There wasn’t very much time. We just kind of knocked the whole role out. But it worked.

Your character is not a sympathetic. The audience doesn’t like him. Do you like playing that type of role?

You know what? I just honor the opportunity to get to work with such a great bunch. It wasn’t necessarily that I was attracted to the character, but it was definitely fun. I played him way over the top so I didn’t take it too seriously. And it came off even creepier, so I hear.

In keeping with one of the critical elements in "The Jacket," if you were given the chance to see into the future, would you take it?

No.

Why not?

I don’t want to know.

How was working with director John Maybury?

Wonderful. He just let me go. It was fun.

Was he pretty loose? Did he let you play with the script?

Oh yeah… As far as dialogue it was just fun.

Brad Renfro's new movie ''The Jacket''

The film, which stars Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley and Kris Kristofferson, is a psychological thriller about a military veteran (Brody) who returns to his native Vermont suffering from bouts of amnesia. When he is accused of murder and lands in an asylum, a well-meaning doctor (Kristofferson) puts him on a heavy course of experimental drugs, restrains him in a jacket-like device, and locks him away in a body drawer of the basement morgue.

This process sends him on a journey into the future, where he can foresee his death (but not who did it or how) in four day's time. Now the only question that matters is: can the woman he meets in the future (Knightley) save him? John Maybury directed The Jacket from a script by Marc Rocco and Massy Tadjedin. The film also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kelly Lynch, Daniel Craig and Brad Renfro. It's set for a March 11 release.

Brad Renfro plays in ''Confessions of an American Girl''

When a movie opens on a teenager's repeated attempts to kill herself, well, you know we're in for some wild comedy!

A darkly black comedy of the trailer trash variety, Waking Up in Reno director Jordan Brady mostly misses with this study of working class malaise, the prison system, teen pregnancy, and closeted homosexuality. Well, Brady gets an A for effort in trying to get across such a broad collection of social messages, but his execution is merely a solid C.

Main problem? It's impossible to care about the plight of any of these characters. The cast comprises a family of five, the patriarch of which is now seven years into a prison sentence. Mom (Michelle Forbes) wants nothing to do with him, but at the urging of the youngest daughter Rena (Jena Malone) -- who is pregnant and suicidal -- she is convinced to take the clan to the annual prison picnic. Along for the ride are closeted Jay (Brad Renfro) and slutty Barbie (Alicia Witt).

Each family member encounters some crisis or another during the day, but it's arguable whether any of their characters is improved or enlightened in any way by it. Even innocent Rena comes off as bratty and deeply in need of being locked up in the nuthouse, while the issue of her pregnancy is tidily dealt with and dismissed. The film's best moment involves Witt, who is told to grunt and squeal like a pig, which she does.

Confessions of an American Girl is partially saved by virtue of having four solid and underrated actors in the lead roles, but the material is simplistic, undercooked, and beneath their talents. Fans of these players will probably find something worthwhile in the production, but insights into any of the topics Brady wants to explore are decidedly absent.